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Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Spring comes.The snow melts.The birds sing.Rain is followed by the promise of sun.And my curiosity, tingled out of winter dormancy, is busy asking questions.

So!This blog post will be about YOU, not me.I’ll ask the questions, you’ll answer them.Then I’ll post again, this time with a compilation of your comments, and my own.Please spring right in, let your ideas scatter like rain, and your creativity bloom!

What season of the year are you most creative as a writer?

Do you generally find books, movies, or music to be more inspiring!(List examples!)

Is Absolute Quiet a must for you while writing, or do you work better with background noise?

Everyone has things they care about deeply, and much of the time, these fuel our writing, whether subtly or directly.What makes your heart leap and your blood boil – and have you put this into your creations?

What part of writing do you hate most?(everyone hates something!)

Name a few favorite words and/or phrases.

Would you say writing engages your mind or your body more?

There’s nothing in the world to compare with finding that perfect turn of word or phrase.Tell us about the latest one you found.

7
comments:

What season of the year are you most creative as a writer? Hmm. I don't think my creativity ranges from season to season, more from inspiration to inspiration, but I definitely feel most creative in Autumn and Winter. (Yes, I do believe seasons deserve capitals)

Do you generally find books, movies, or music to be more inspiring? Probably books and movies more inspiring then music. I use music to spur the inspiration onward. Movies that are different from the usual gup of this world, books that have a strange-ness about them. The Giver, Gathering Blue, Ballet Shoes, Holes, Bridge to Terabithia(movie and book), The Silent Boy. I think I like YA books the best of everything I've read!

Is Absolute Quiet a must for you while writing, or do you work better with background noise? Quiet is a must, or a constant, consistant noise such as a fan or music to cover up voices. Something inside of me has a need to listen to everyone and everything around me.

Everyone has things they care about deeply, and much of the time, these fuel our writing, whether subtly or directly. What makes your heart leap and your blood boil – and have you put this into your creations? Sunsets, a white prairie against a blue, blue sky, clear, fresh, cold air, my daddy coming home at night, long literary chats with my sisters, these make my heart leap! What makes my blood boil? Communism! Folks who are interested only in themselves. People who hurt my family. Noise that can't be covered up!

What part of writing do you hate most? (everyone hates something!) The writing part. :) The paperwork.

Would you say writing engages your mind or your body more? My mind. That's the part I don't use very often, but writing makes it work more than algebra!

There’s nothing in the world to compare with finding that perfect turn of word or phrase. Tell us about the latest one you found. Oh, my goodness, I haven't written really since last month! I wish I could answer this! I don't like sticking to just one and I try to find so many I think I forget about them once I've got them written.

And finally – what project are you working on right now? Editing "Rogue Prince" and writing an "Unnamed Thus Far" WWII story. :)

Do you generally find books, movies, or music to be more inspiring! (List examples!)

Sometimes, but most of the time, nope.

Is Absolute Quiet a must for you while writing, or do you work better with background noise?

Music helps a lot, but nothing else. I get creeped out if there's nothing going in the background, because our house creaks, and Felix sounds like a burglar.

Everyone has things they care about deeply, and much of the time, these fuel our writing, whether subtly or directly. What makes your heart leap and your blood boil – and have you put this into your creations?

Yep. Writing does that.

What part of writing do you hate most? (everyone hates something!)

Trying to find a good starting place. It's hard.

Name a few favorite words and/or phrases.

No idea...They hopefully change depending on the story. :P

Would you say writing engages your mind or your body more?

Mind, probably.

There’s nothing in the world to compare with finding that perfect turn of word or phrase. Tell us about the latest one you found.

Fun post! (I used to love those Get to Know Your Friends questionnaires that were always flying around the Internet.)

1. What season of the year are you most creative as a writer?

Seriously don't think it matters. I try to keep my productivity as consistent as possible no matter the season. But I am inevitably happier in the summer, so I'm sure that has some effect.

2. Do you generally find books, movies, or music to be more inspiring!

Movies. I'm a visual person, so the medium not only appeals to me more, it sticks with me longer.

3. Is Absolute Quiet a must for you while writing, or do you work better with background noise?

I write to music - something loud and bass-heavy usually.

4. Everyone has things they care about deeply, and much of the time, these fuel our writing, whether subtly or directly. What makes your heart leap and your blood boil – and have you put this into your creations?

Editing is probably my least favorite, but I don't think I *hate* any part of the process.

6. Name a few favorite words and/or phrases.

Right now, I'm in love with the word "whiskey." Awful, I know, but it's such a pretty word!

7. Would you say writing engages your mind or your body more?

My mind, inevitably, but it's definitely a very physical interaction as well. When my body responds to an idea, I know I've got something good.

8. There’s nothing in the world to compare with finding that perfect turn of word or phrase. Tell us about the latest one you found.

Gosh, I really can't remember. I haven't been writing lately, so much as editing and researching.

9. And finally – what project are you working on right now?

Tying up some research loose ends on my historical The Deepest Breath, waiting for a critter to get back to me on my fantasy Dreamers, and just finishing up my non-fiction Outlining Your Novel: Plan Your Way to Success.

What season of the year are you most creative as a writer? Fall is probably my best; I love the cool crispness of October, which always invigorates me, and then of course there's the writeathon we know as NaNoWriMo in November.

Do you generally find books, movies, or music to be more inspiring! (List examples!) Hard to say... All of them inspire me in different ways. As to what triggers a story idea, overheard conversations and people watching are more fruitful resources for me than any book, movie or song.

Is Absolute Quiet a must for you while writing, or do you work better with background noise? I need background noise, but not conversation (I'm tempted to listen instead of write) or loud, sudden sounds that break my concentration. Instrumental music, especially mellow jazz, is best for me.

Everyone has things they care about deeply, and much of the time, these fuel our writing, whether subtly or directly. What makes your heart leap and your blood boil – and have you put this into your creations? Heart leap: Seeing someone come to Jesus and turn his/her life around. Blood boil: Too many things to name, but rejecting the Lord is right at the top of my list. And yes, those do (or will) make it into my stories.

What part of writing do you hate most? (everyone hates something!) Staring at the laptop screen with no clue as to what I'm going to write, followed closely by line edits.

Name a few favorite words and/or phrases.Another hard one to answer; I go through phases where I'm enamored with a word or phrase and overuse it, then move on to a new one.

Would you say writing engages your mind or your body more? Definitely my mind (other than the fingers doing the typing, of course), but like K.M., if something I've written elicits an emotional/physical response (tears, laughter, wincing, etc.), then I feel fairly sure it's good stuff. ;)

There’s nothing in the world to compare with finding that perfect turn of word or phrase. Tell us about the latest one you found.Can't think of one off the top of my head, but one of my favorite writerly activities is to take a cliche that doesn't make sense to me and freshen it up a bit. For instance, "blind as a bat" always struck me as inaccurate and therefore useless; bats aren't actually blind. "Blind as a baseball bat," on the other hand, makes perfect sense, so that's what I say. Also, I like one I picked up from my dad - "busier than a one-armed paper hanger." Of course, if someone doesn't know how wallpaper is applied (or what wallpaper is), that could be a problem...

What project are you working on right now?Defining "working on" very loosely (as in it's waiting for me to work on it), I have two novels to edit and a third one to finish drafting. I also have a couple of story ideas running around the ol' noggin, and a writer friend suggested that I novelize a story I told her the other night about a former boss and his involvement in the Mariel boat lifts out of Cuba in 1980. As usual, too many unfinished projects. Beginning to wonder if I have ADD - oh look! Butterflies...

About Me

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(with Ruth Rockafield)

British nurse Liz Knight goes to London searching for her sister. But it's the height of WWII, and London is under seige as Nazi planes strafe and bomb the city to ruins. As hope crumbles along with the city, Liz's search for her sister becomes a desperate search for courage and faith to survive.

A Texas Ranger is sent to investigate mysterious lynchings in the town of Silver Springs. He quickly finds himself mired in evil secrets simmering under the surface. His only chance of escape is to find the person who leads the killers. But when he becomes the newest victim, time starts running out.